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France Plans Revival Of Compulsory National Service
[NPR.ORG] The French government has a plan to revive compulsory national service for young people between the ages of 16 and 21 ‐ a watered-down version of a proposal put forth on the campaign trail by then-presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron.Under the plan, French boys and girls would do a minimum of one-month of service, with a focus on "teaching, working with charities, and traditional military training with the police, fire service or army," Euro News reports. "They can then volunteer to do a further three months to a year after that, which could involve an area linked to [defense] and security, or more volunteer work," the news service says. Even so, the plan is a toned-down version of what Macron proposed in 2017. His initial idea was "a sort of military service in miniature, with all French citizens forced to have a 'direct experience of military life' for a minimum of one month between the ages of 18 and 21," according to the BBC. In modern La Belle France, national service ‐ including military conscription for all fit males ‐ dates back to the years leading up to World War I, when the French military tried to keep pace with the growing German Imperial Army. Conscription was continued following World War II and was only phased in 1996. When it ended, the requirement was for males only to serve a minimum of 10 months. Posted by: Fred 2018-06-29 |
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